Drivers with a high blood alcohol concentration (BAC) have a heightened crash risk and are involved in the majority of fatal alcohol-impaired driving crashes. In recognition of the threat that these offenders pose, many states have passed laws that enhance drunk driving penalties in instances where the BAC is above a certain level. The specifics of these laws vary by state but typically include lengthier administrative license suspension/revocation, mandatory installation of an ignition interlock, increased fines, lengthier periods of incarceration, mandatory assessment and treatment, and ineligibility for deferred sentencing or diversion programs.

Some states have created a tiered system and require enhanced penalties at more than one BAC level. For example, offenders in Virginia face enhanced penalties at .15 and .20. The map identifies the lowest BAC at which enhanced penalties are applied.

To learn more about enhanced penalties for high-BAC drunk drivers, refer to our policy position.

To submit a law update, please contact out Director of Traffic Safety at erin.holmes@responsibility.org

**Drunkenness is not considered a crime in some states; therefore, the figures may vary widely from state to state

*Limited, incomplete, or no data were reported by the District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, and New York in the 2015 Uniform Crime Report. Data should be used with caution and should not be compared to other states or previous year data.

Note: Because the number of agencies submitting arrest data varies from year to year, users are cautioned about making direct comparisons between 2015 arrest totals and those published in previous years’ editions of Crime in the United States. Further, arrest figures may vary widely from state to state because some Part II crimes of the Uniform Crime Report are not considered crimes in some states.